


Little Fox

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: A Little Thief of Hearts [4]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Age Regression/De-Aging, Akira is adorable, Brotherly Bonding, Cuddles, Diapers, Found Family, Gen, He will get both and more, Hurt/Comfort, Little! Yusuke, Little!Akira, Madarame's A+ parenting, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Reference to The Lion King just because, Sojiro has emotional trauma, Sojiro is a softie, Sojiro is best dad, The boys have emotional trauma, Tickle Fights, Wetting, Words can hurt, Yusuke is adorable, Yusuke needs love and food, mentions of bullying, stuffed animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-08-11 10:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20152393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: Yusuke finding his Littlespace





	1. Relax

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel was offered, people wanted, I delivered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just fluff and cuddling, and a bit of fatherly Sojiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See ya at the end. Chapter in 3 2 1

A nervous Yusuke was quite a sight. The boy tended to march to the beat of his own drum, so he really was never too worried about his own actions, but at the moment, he was clearly nervous, and while it was kind of cute, it was also counterproductive to what they were trying to accomplish.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Akira asks. Perhaps what he had voiced last weekend had been more impulsive than either of them had realized. 

Yusuke nods. “I want to do this. I see the good it does for you, and I can’t stop the thought of how much I want to be the child that I was never allowed to be.”

Well then, how could he doubt that kind of resolve. “First, you have to relax,” Akira said. “Can you think of anything that will help you calm down?”

“Art is the first thing that comes to mind.”

“That won’t work, at least not at the start. It has to be something that is different from the way you normally relax, just so you can feel the difference and associate it less with your everyday self.”

Yusuke thought for a moment, pacing within the room, until his gaze fell on the television. “I don’t frequently watch television, but it was calming when I watched cartoons, and cuddled with you.”

Akira nodded. “That’s a good idea.” With that he turned on the television, and put in a movie. Then he sat on the bed, and patted the spot beside him. “We can cuddle if you want.”

Yusuke seemed to consider, and then nodded. After a little bit of movement, they found a good position that allowed both of them to see the movie. Akira was against the wall, and laid on his side, and Yusuke, scooted down the bed a little to even their heights, and curled up with him.

“Can I touch your hair?” Akira asked softly.

“Yes,” Yusuke answered, and that made Akira smile, because it was clear that he was curious why, but trusted Akira too much to question it before giving permission.

“I find that, for me, it helps to be treated as young as I feel. Little touches are something that helps to ground me.” Akira explained, while combing his fingers through Yusuke’s hair.

“This is nice,” Yusuke said slowly, clearly moments from falling asleep.

“Rest now,” Akira whispered, and Yusuke did.

~

When Yusuke woke up, he was in an odd state. It was similar to being consumed by an idea for his art, but far less frantic. 

He rubbed at his eyes, and found Akira asleep beside him.

The sound of footsteps made him look towards the stairs. “Go back to sleep,” Sojiro said softly.

Yusuke blinked a few times, but continued to watch him.

Sojiro came closer, and pulled the blanket over the two boys, thankfully they had been dressed for bed before laying down. Sojiro reached for Akira, and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face, then looked at Yusuke for a moment, with a rather curious expression, before doing the same to him.

Yusuke blinked up at him, confused, but happy. Sojiro gave him a small smile, mouthed the words ‘good night’, and left the room.

Yusuke stared after him for a moment, thinking about what had just happened, before snuggling closer to Akira, and going back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I have about 5 little short chaps and then who knows. Let's take this ride together.


	2. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira gives Yusuke a present

“I bought something for you,” Akira says, as they sit together on his bed, on Saturday evening.

Yusuke looks at him, and before he can second guess himself, Akira hands over his most recent impulse buy. “Stuffed animals help me get into that more innocent mindset,” he explains.

Yusuke nods hearing what Akira has said, but his attention is still on the red and white fox plush with blue eyes.

His fingers run through the faux fox fur of the plush, entranced by the softness. Out of nowhere comes the impulse to hug it. He considers ignoring the impulse, but then he remembers that Akira had told him that an important part of Littlespace was acting instinctively, so he pulled it close to him, and rubbed his cheek against it.

Then he pulls it back to look at it again.

“I take it that you like the fox.”

“He is perfect. Thank you Akira,” he says his voice full of emotion, that comes across clearly, even as quiet as he was speaking. Even had he not noticed that, the facts that Yusuke's eyes were wet with tears, and that he was biting his lip to stop from crying, would have told him that something was wrong.

“What are you thinking?” Akira asks gently, moving a little closer.

“I never had a toy before. How sad is that? Sen- Madarame always got me useful things, like brushes, and other supplies. There was never time for frivolous things,” he lets out a laugh that carries no hint of humor, “how foolish am I for not realizing how bad that was until this moment?”

The words were bitter, and harsh, and by the time he had finished, his eyes were closed, and yet tears still managed to rain down from them.

Akira says nothing, knowing there are no words for this situation. What he does do is maneuver them into the bed. Yusuke wraps around him tightly, not that Akira minds.

They both shake with the force of his crying, but Akira doesn’t carew, because grieving is something that Yusuke hasn’t had much time for, and he is personally very happy to be a shoulder for his friend to cry on.

~

Once he stops crying, Yusuke is very subdued, through dinner, and a late night marathon of some old kids show, he is quiet, and holds on to the fox plush as though his life depends on it.

Later, when they are in bed for the night, Yusuke says, “I apologize that I was a burden today.”

Akira can't help laughing a little. At Yusuke’s confused look, “I felt that way about you guys taking care of me when I was Little, now I see why you guys were all so insistent that caring for me was not a problem, caring for you today was no hardship.”

Yusuke smiled recognizing his own words from weeks ago.

Akira smiled back at him, happy to see Yusuke happy after the day he'd had.

They seemed to realize at the same moment how weird it was to lay there smiling at each other, and soon the bed was shaking with the combined force of their laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will be updated as I write and edit.


	3. Little

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke and Akira spend the day Little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite part thus far.

The following Saturday afternoon, Yusuke arrived at the cafe, and barely paused long enough to greet Sojiro, before going upstairs.

"Hey Yusuke," Akira said.

"Good afternoon," Yusuke replied, dropping his bag on the floor. He changed into his night clothes, it was practically guaranteed that there would be a nap and or a cuddle session sometime today, so it was best to be prepared, when he was done he pulled out his fox plush.

"Does he have a name yet?"

Yusuke nodded before looking away. "Inari," he said finally. "He reminds me of my metaverse outfit, which is why you picked him I presume, and it was the only name that came to mind."

Yusuke looked at Akira, and saw a bemused smile on his face, but the expression was off. Something was wrong.

"Is this not a good day?" He asked softly, the excitement he had felt moments before replaced with a deep sadness, maybe Akira didn't want him here.

Akira sighed. "I just...well I got used to being Little every weekend, and I miss it."

"Do you want me to go? Surely one of the others must be free-"

"No!" Akira cried out, he looked at the stairs waiting to see if his cry had disturbed anyone, then lowered his voice. "No, I want you to stay."

"That is truly fortunate because I do not wish to leave," Yusuke said, relief obvious in his tone.

"Daddy downstairs so we safe if we wanna play," Akira told him.

"Okay," Yusuke said softly.

Akira frowned. His Yu was too shy. What could he do to make things better? Then he saw Yusuke's fox plushie, and got a good idea. "Inari want meet all my stuffies?"

Yusuke brightened at that, and Akira hurried over to get his stuffies. He plopped down on the floor and set each of them out.

"Dis Ari," Akira started once Yusuke joined him on the floor. 

Yusuke helped Inari shake Ari's hand.

Akira giggled and introduced his next stuffie. He giggled each time Inari gave a pawshake, but he loved when it was El's turn, and Inari shook El's trunk.

"And I Kira," Akira said offering his hand, and shaking Inari's paw. 

Yusuke, who had actually remained quite serious throughout all the introductions, lost it at the sight of Akira being super serious in greeting Inari.

It sounded slightly different from his normal laugh, Akira managed to notice. More of his focus was on pouting though because he didn't very much like being laughed at.

"Yu a meanie," Akira huffed crossing his arms for emphasis.

Yusuke froze for a moment, shocked at the first response that had come to his mind. Then, he looked at Akira, and said that very thing. "Am not."

"Are too," Akira shot back with no hesitation. 

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I am not," Yusuke said. He saw Akira tense, and spoke before his friend could think he had been mad for real. "Say I'm not or else," he threatened flexing his fingers with clear intent to torture the words out of him.

"Meanie," Akira laughed backing away from his friend.

Yusuke grinned. Akira had challenged him, what choice did he have other than to accept it? 

~

"What's going on up here? I can hear you two all the way in the kitchen."

Both boys froze at the sound of Sojiro's voice. The fear spiking through them, made them completely miss the lightness that had surrounded the question.

Yusuke was on top of Akira, pinning him to the floor, fingers still on his sides where his shirt had ridden up. Akira lay under him, flushed from all the laughing that he had been doing, but he looked two seconds from bursting into tears. 

Apparently Yusuke noticed that too, since he pulled himself up to talk to Sojiro. Metaverse or not his urge to protect Akira had risen to the fore, and he could not ignore it. "S-sorry. I was tickling Kira an I made him get loud."

Sojiro stood there for a moment stunned at how young Yusuke sounded. His voice had been soft, and he seemed about two seconds from tears himself, but apparently he wanted to make sure Akira didn't get in trouble. 

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Akira spoke up. "Not Yu fault. Not be mad at him Daddy. Kira shoulda been quiet, am possed to be good at quiet."

"Guys... I'm not mad at either of you." Sojiro said, hating that his presence seemed to be a catalyst for both of these poor kids reliving trauma. Both boys stood there like they didn't really believe him, and he heaved a sigh. "I figured you guys were probably playing, I wasn't lying about hearing your laughter in the kitchen, so that's why I didn't come up until I wanted to let you know that dinner was ready."

Right on cue, Yusuke's stomach growled. 

"Yu not eat?" Akira ask worriedly. Even in Littlespace he worried about how hungry his friend let himself get.

Yusuke blushed, and started to bring his arm to his mouth before gazing at the uncovered skin. Then he pinched a bit of his shirt under the collar, and began to chew on it.

"Aw kid, don't do that," Sojiro said trying to tug the shirt out of his mouth. 

"Yu no can eat food if shirt in mouth."

Realizing that truth, Yusuke let Sojiro pull the piece of the shirt from his mouth. 

"How about we eat, then I will give you a surprise."

Yusuke frowned. "How can there be anything for me?"

Sojiro gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I might have bought it for Akira, originally, but I also may have seen so many cute designs that I bought more than one."

"Don't want take nothing from Kira, taking not very good to do." Yusuke said with a frown

"I'm sure Akira doesn't mind. Do you kid?"

Akira shook his head. "If Yu will like then Yu can have. Want Yu be happy," he said catching him in a loose hug.

"It's settled then, food first then surprise."

Dinner was curry, of course, and Yusuke demolished his first serving. He would have been embarrassed, had Akira not finished his just as quickly.

"Slow down kids, the food won't get up and walk away."

They both laughed at the image of the bowls of curry getting up to walk away, but with that assurance given, the next serving was eaten at a more sedate pace. Before long though, they were both full.

"Thank you for dinner Daddy." Akira chirped.

"You're welcome buddy," Sojiro said ruffling his hair, and making it stick up in all directions..

"You're messing up my mane," Akira said with a giggle, as he smoothed it back down. 

"I am, am I?" Sojiro said before repeating the action, and causing more giggles.

Yusuke couldn't help laughing at them.

"What's so funny mister? Your mane's not safe either." With that Sojiro ruffled Yusuke's hair.

"Thop it," Yusuke said batting away Sojiro's hand playfully.

"Is that a lisp?" Sojiro asked in a voice that one could be forgiven for mistaking as a quiet squeal.

"No." Yusuke said, but he could feel Sojiro staring at him and he couldn't let the lie stand. "Yeth, I uthed have one, but I learned to talk without it."

"Well I think it's adorable," Sojiro declared, as though it made all the difference, and if Yusuke were to be honest, it truly did.

"Daddy is mazing like that," Akira said knowingly.

Yusuke couldn't agree more.

~

After cleaning up from dinner, and getting ready for their nap, both boys, now full were quite tired, it was then that Sojiro presented them with their gifts.

Both of them were treated to the sight of pacifiers. The one given to Akira had a black cat design on the shield, and the one he gave to Yusuke had a red fox design. Each came with a clip with the same design as the shield of the pacifier, and Sojiro made quick work of attaching them.

"Good surprise or am I as bad at picking gifts as some think?" Honestly, he was nervous, perhaps this was too babyish. Sure, they both had a bit of oral fixation, but that didn't mean they wanted pacifiers of all things.

With a move so in sync they may as well have been twins, they pounced. Suddenly, in the space of one blink he was the filling of a hug sandwich.

"No need for all this," he protested, because in the end, Akira had gotten more from others, and once they saw this shyer version of their artist friend, those other kids would get him a boatload of things too.

However, he belied his statement and his thoughts by wrapping one arm around each boy. "Okay, back into bed you two."

"Kay Daddy."

"Yeth Thir."

Both of them spoke at the same time creating an odd overlapping of voices. 

Reluctantly they both pulled away, and got back into bed. Sojiro tucked them in. Retrieving Yusuke's fox, from the cuddle pile they had left the animals in, and turned back to the bed, "Who do you want tonight, kid?"

"Logan," Akira decided.

Sojiro picked the bear up too, and took them both to the bed, only to freeze. Both of them had put their pacifiers in, and apparently found them nice enough to keep in. Once again he found himself trying to figure out how they were practically adults, and yet still managed to be absolutely adorable. Both boys gazed up at him with drowsy eyes, and he must have frozen for too long because they had started making grabby hands for their toys. 

Shaking out of it, he walked over, handed the stuffed animals to their kids. With a quick brush of his fingers through each of their hair, he went back to put the rest of the stuffed animals in the chest.

"Goodnight kids," he said turning off the light.

"Night," they both said quietly, both mostly asleep already. 

Once Sojiro was downstairs, he took a moment to think about the emotional investment he had in Akira, how he found his Little side so adorable, and now, how easily he was able to respond to Yusuke while he was in that same vulnerable space. 

He wondered just how much this has changed the dynamics of their group, and feels a wave of sadness go through him when he realizes that it can't last. Akira will be going home once the year was over. 

Sojiro looked back up the stairs and smiled. Akira was something special. With him, things had a habit of working out, even when it all went wrong, like how he got a criminal record, but still managed to make a makeshift family, that as far as he could tell, was better than his biological one, so Sojiro just had to believe this would work out too.

That settled, he headed out the door, locking it behind him. He'd check on the boys in the morning, after all Big or Little they could use breakfast, especially Yusuke, he was going to make sure that kid got some decent meals if it was the last thing he did.


	4. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Playtime and some bonding

"Why is it so difficult to enter that mindset?" Yusuke lamented the next weekend. He had spent an hour trying to find that peace that had come so easily to him the previous weekend, and he was beginning to get a little discouraged.

"It's not always easy," Akira said gently. 

"I had anticipated as much, but you do make it seem that way."

"I... I didn't slip for a long time before…everything happened, and feeling safe with all of you made it very easy to fall, since I trusted everyone would be there to catch me."

"I apologize," Yusuke said, “I hadn’t meant to dredge up unpleasant memories."

"You don’t have to apologize. If it wasn’t for all the unpleasant things, I wouldn’t be here today, and I'm happy I found a place that all the parts that make me who I am are cared about by so many people. I know how hard it can be to fall though, and I do have an idea that might help."

"Yes?"

"You seemed to be able to regress easier when I did went down first."

"It did seem to be the case last week."

"Do you want to try it again?"

"If it is alright with you, I would like to see if that will work a second time."

“Alright, I’ll get my stuffies, and we can just play.”

Yusuke nodded, and took out Inari. “What will we do with them today?”

“Sometimes I like to tell stories with them, I think it will be more fun with someone else here though.”

“Very well, how will we start?”

Akira sat on the floor, and pulled Logan closer to him. “Logan has good idea.”

~

Logan Bear was wandering through the forest, eating the berries he found along the way, when he heard someone closeby crying.

Moving quickly, he ran towards the sound, and found a fox kit.

“Kit, what’s the matter?”

The fox kit looked at him, but continued to cry.

Logan Bear sat next to him, and waited.

After a little while, the kit stopped crying long enough to talk. “I woke up all alone in my den,” he said softly.

From the tears, Logan Bear could tell that the kit had been abandoned. Hoping he was wrong, he asked, “Are you sure they are not out hunting?”

The kit shook his head. “My color not like theirs, so left me.”

“Oh, kit, I’m sorry,” Logan Bear said. “Would you like to come to my den?”

The kit shook his head. “You a stranger.”

While Logan Bear was happy that the kit knew of stranger danger, he was too worried about the kit’s survival to be proud of it. “I live close by. Follow my scent or cry out if you ever need help,” Logan Bear said, before walking away.

The kit watched after him, wondering why the bear had been so nice.

One day, a long while after meeting the bear, Inari was searching for food, when he heard something, he hid under a bush hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t notice him because he was so small, but then he heard a roar, and…

“Boys it's lunchtime,” Sojiro called.

Neither of them had heard the man come up, and they jumped at the sound of his voice. “But we playing,” Yusuke complained, and then he seemed to panic. 

Sojiro was ready for this, he had been around the boy long enough to know that he had fear of figures that he gave some measure of authority over him, but it was amazing to see that he was comfortable enough to argue even if he backslid a little once he realized what he had done. “You can finish your game later,” he said with the air of a promise, “I don’t like it when my boys are hungry.”

“I your boy?” Yusuke said in a hushed tone, as though him saying it would cause it to no longer be true.

“If you want to be,” Sojiro hedged. He hadn’t really noticed what he had said, but he didn’t mean it any less. That whole group of kids was basically his, at this point, but Akira, and Futaba, held a special place, just because he was more involved in their care, and now Yusuke had been added to that list as well.

“Yeth,” he said nodding his head so hard it’s truly a wonder that he didn’t get dizzy from it.

“Dat mean Yu my brother?” Akira asked, smiling happily at the thought.

“Kira kay with that?” Yusuke still had to ask.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Akira said, running over to hug him. They spin as they hug, then, tripped over thin air, and fell over. One gaze at each other, and they are laughing hard enough to bring tears to their eyes.

“Let’s go eat,” Sojiro said, offering a hand to both of them to help them up, once they had calmed down a little.

“Yu?” Akira said once they were on their feet again.

“Yeah Kira?”

“If we brothers, an Yu is Daddy’s boy, dat mean Daddy, your Daddy too?”

Yusuke looked shocked, like the idea hadn’t even crossed his mind. Then he looked at Sojiro, cautious, yet hopeful.

“If that’s what you want me to be,” Sojiro said softly.

Yusuke bit his lip. “I want,” he murmured, “but thcared.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why he was scared of giving him the common name for a father figure, and Sojiro was no idiot. “You don’t have to call me that if you don’t want to,” he said. “You can just call me by my name.”

Yusuke shook his head at that too, before looking at Sojiro, still afraid, but oddly determined. "May I call you…" he paused then, after taking a shaky breath he finished the question. "Papa?"

"Of course you can," Sojiro replied quickly, hoping that the words would calm the boys fears.

It seemed to work, given that Yusuke's reaction was simply to move back into the hug so that he could hide his face again. Yusuke then extended a hand in Akira's general direction, and Akira froze for a minute, clearly not wanting to interupt the bonding of two of his most precious people. 

Sojiro was having none of it though, this wouldn't be happening without Akira, and even if this wasn't happening, he would still pull him into a hug just because he could. With that in mind, he too extended an arm to Akira. 

Seeing the proof they both wanted him, Akira ran over to join the hug.

Lunch needed to be reheated by the time they went down to eat it, but Sojiro doubted that either of them minded.

After lunch, the two of them were most certainly ready for a nap. Once they were tucked in with their stuffies and pacifiers, Sojiro ran his fingers through their hair, and they both leaned into the touch. 

After making sure they were both asleep, he wrote a note telling them he would be back soon, not that he expected them to wake before he was back, but he wouldn't want them to worry, last thing he wanted to do was to add to their abandonment issues. 

Sojiro made a swift check of the kitchen to be sure he had turned everything off, then he left out the door, resisting the urge to check if they were asleep again. He'd never make it back in time if he didn't leave now. He checked the time, well if he made it short, he had enough time for one more check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like the bits with Logan and Inari.


	5. Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more Sojiro and them playing with toys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story got bigger again. I started a chapter, saw it needed a better lead in, wrote this one, and then seen this one could incorporate a extra scene I was going to add, so it became two chapters. 
> 
> That's why the update took so long. 
> 
> Anyway how are all of you?

Sojiro placed the shopping bag on the table with a sigh, it had been hard to choose what to buy, and it wasn't helpful that every extra second he spent going up and down the aisle in the store he had been worried they would wake before he got home. He went up the stairs, half sure that they were awake, and found that they were still fast asleep. 

Apparently, their week had been more taxing than he had thought, because when they napped they normally slept for about an hour, give or take a few minutes, and today it was closer to two hours and they still showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.They looked too comfortable to wake though, so he went back downstairs to work on dinner. 

A half hour later saw him putting the finishing touches on the spaghetti and meatballs that he had made for them. It was a classic meal, that was in no way intended make them make them make a mess like young children often did, and was certainly not part of his ongoing campaign to prove that a little mess was no problem, and would never make him abandon anyone. Just as he was about to head up to wake them he heard a noise from upstairs. He hurried up the stairs, needing to know that they were alright. 

Kira's eyes met his, completely alert despite the fact that he had just woken up. His body was curled around Yusuke, in a way that let Sojiro know that the boy was in some kind of distress.

"What happened?" Sojiro asked Akira.

"Yu had bad dream," Akira told him.

"Give me some room," Sojiro said, and Akira sat up. Sojiro lifted Yusuke's head and sat down. With the boy's head in his lap, the man now had his attention. "What did you dream about?" he asked gently.

When Yusuke didn't answer after a few moments, he was about to say that he didn't have to tell him, but then a small voice cut through the silence. "Not a nighmare," he started. "Evwrything wath thame, went to thcool, Akira an evwryone were friend with me. Good, wath all good."

"So what made it upset you?"

"I wath like me now, an none them could get it. Thcared me an was lonely."

'I never forget Little Yu," Kira said, before squishing him in an hug, that was made very awkward by their positions. 

"And a Papa never forgets his boy," Sojiro added, bopping said boy on the nose.

Yusuke looked shocked for a moment and then let out a giggle. The sound was so cute, Sojiro tapped him on the nose once more.

"Love you Kira, love you...Papa."

"Love you Yu."

"Love you too, kid. Now let's stop all this mushy stuff before we melt into puddles of warm goo."

"Silly Daddy," Kira giggled.

"I most certainly am not silly, I am quite serious," Sojiro said, and it might have even been convincing if he hadn't put on obviously fake accent.

"Papa goofy," Yusuke said.

"Hey," Sojiro said trying to pretend that he took offense, but the fact that Yusuke didn't stumble over the word this time had him smiling like a fool.

"Papa I hungry," Yusuke said softly. 

"Well we can't have that, and it just so happens, that dinner is ready for you."

~

Inari shivered as a second roar erupted around him. When he felt nothing though, he opened his eyes, and saw a dragon being attacked by a rather familiar bear. 

"Stay away from him," Logan Bear growled.

The dragon just slashed at the bear. 

Logan managed to get away with a mere scratch, but he had tumbled a bit, and it left a path to the terrified fox kit.

The dragon went for Inari, only to have the full bulk of a bear thrown into his side. The dragon tumbled, landing a the bottom of a large ditch, with its wing injured.

"Come on kit," Logan said.

Inari looked at him, and decided to go with him. Anyone that would fight a dragon for a kit they hardly knew couldn't be that bad.

They trekked through the woods in silence, at first Inari thought that the bear was mad at him, and then, just as they were approaching his cave, the bear collapsed.

"Mr. Bear," called the kit. "Please Mr. Bear get up."

Logan groaned.

"Logan!" exclaimed a large tiger. 

Now that he was looking, Inari could see that the bear had a large wound on his belly. "I'm sorry- I didn't, he just... and there was a dragon-"

"It's okay kit. Logan told me he was keeping an eye on you. He has a bad habit of helping strays, no matter what it does to him. Help me get him inside." With that the tiger slid under the bear, and got him on his back. Unfortunately, the size difference made it hard for the tiger to see, so Inari was charged with leading them inside the cave.

~

"It was super duper nice dat Daddy buy us new toys."

"Papa da best," Yusuke agreed. "How we make him know how much we like them?"

"I has an idea, we need be Big for part of it."

"You thay part. We can do part Little?"

"Mmmhmm," with that Akira went to get some paper, and crayons.

Together they worked very hard to make sure that they did the best they could, and they didn't go to bed until it was perfect.

~

It was Thursday, by the time they finally were able to got to Mementos alone. They were going to stay relatively close to the surface, as they had promised the others. They had reluctantly agreed that it was okay, but both Yusuke and Akira knew that none of them were happy about it. The material they would need to finish their present for Sojiro was easily found here though, so they were both eager to do it.

"Ready Joker?" Yusuke asked when he spotted a shadow.

Akira nodded. 

They snuck up on it, and Akira called forth a Persona. 

The battle was going well, until another shadow, who Akira didn't have a Persona to combat, joined the battle. Outnumbered, it seemed the only choice was to run, and just hope they could outrun them. 

Suddenly Yusuke jumped in front of him, to save him from an attack that would have knocked him out, and just then, as it was about to hit, there was a bright glow. When it faded, an oddly familiar fox was standing there. It was about the size of a large dog, and was colored white, and red, with blue paws. It bared sharp fangs at the shadows, and went in for the attack.

After a moment of stunned confusion, the two Persona users helped the fox fight. With this new ally the battle was quickly ended.

Thankfully, the enemy dropped the very items that they had come for. After they picked the material up, they noticed that the fox was gone.

"Let's go home Fox. We got what we came for, and might not be so lucky in another battle."

Yusuke nodded, and like Akira, he was still a little in awe of what had happened during the battle. Together the two of them made their way out of Mementos, thankfully the path was easy to follow, and they managed to avoid encountering any other shadows. They might have gotten the material, but they still had to make Sojiro's present, and it was best they get started so that it would be ready by the time the weekend arrived.


	6. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was supposed to be a chapter between this and the last, but I saw how well it connected, and so this was typed up and revised. 
> 
> I'm warning now, this will be mostly Hurt. Don't say I never warned that I heap trauma onto characters that I really like.

Akira looked at the time on his phone, and frowned. He checked for new messages or a missed call, and found his inbox empty.

Yusuke should have been here by now, and Akira was starting to worry, finally, unable to wait any longer, he decided to call him. Yusuke might have gotten sucked into the creation of a new art piece, and lost track of time, just because his art had never interrupted a weekend he had agreed to come over,did not mean it couldn't happen.

It was the weekend that they had planned to give Sojiro their present though, and Yusuke had been so excited when they had finished it yesterday. ‘Was he pretending?’ Akira couldn’t help thinking, and it was in that moment that he knew he needed answers. He couldn’t let his insecurities ruin one of the best things that ever happened to him. The phone rang, and rang, until going to voicemail.

Akira tried again, and got the same result. Now he was scared, Yusuke always answered the phone. Art may have been his passion, and he could lose himself in it easily, but he valued his friends more. Akira knew for a fact, that each member of their group had a specific ringtone on Yusuke’s phone, just so that he would pay attention if they called him.

"Hey, what's with all the pacing up here?" Sojiro asked as he came up the stairs.

"Yusuke isn't answering his phone, and he hasn't contacted me at all," Akira said, then he had to close his eyes for a moment. Until he had said it out loud, he hadn’t realized how deeply this had upset him.

Sojiro frowned. "That isn't like him at all," he commented. While it was true that he hadn't known Yusuke for very long, he could tell the boy was the kind of person that always responded even if it was only to say that he was busy at the moment. Those kids had a bond, and anyone with a lick of sense could see how strong it was.

Suddenly, Akira got an idea, and honestly, if he wasn’t so worried he would have thought of it before then. The phone may have gone to voicemail, but that meant that it was on.

It was the work of seconds to get Futaba to track it for him. When she let him know where the phone, and hopefully Yusuke, was, it made him even more worried.

"I'm going out," he told Sojiro as he headed for the stairs.

"I'll drive,” Sojiro said, stopping him by grabbing his arm lightly. “Don't look so shocked. I can read you very well, now that I know you so well. So where are we going?"

"Kosei Dorms."

"Maybe he just forgot his phone today," Sojiro suggested, but he didn't sound convinced.

"I hope so," Akira said sounding equally sure as Sojiro had.

The ride to the dorm was tense, both of them worried about Yusuke. Thankfully, traffic was light so the ride was shorter than it might have been, and before long they were on the campus, and following the signal that had not moved since being tracked.

instead of leading into the dormitory, though, it led around the side. They followed it to a small nook, that would have gone unnoticed otherwise, and crushed in that small space was a very familiar figure.

"Yusuke," Akira said softly.

He might as well have shouted the name, because his friend's head shot up like he had. Akira knew the look he was getting from Yusuke in that moment all too well, and he mentally swore. Even he hadn't foreseen this scenario, but in hindsight he should have at least have considered it.

He turned to Sojiro. "You need to talk to him," he said. Akira was sure he could coax Yusuke out, their bond was strong, and they trusted each other with their lives, but it would take some time, which would be very bad for Yusuke, it would likely leave Akira Little as well, which would make Yusuke feel like he needed to protect his friend even when he was the one that needed to be protected, and the last thing Sojiro needed was two panicking Littles in public. Knowing all this didn’t make it any easier to pull back though.

"Is he-"

Akira nodded.

Sojiro knelt down, "Hey kid," he said gently.

"Papa?"

Yusuke's voice was rough, even at the level of a whisper, and that was very worrying

A few minutes later, Yusuke was coaxed out of the small space, and on his feet. His appearance had them struggling to hide both anger, and worry.

His face was flushed, and it was clear that he was running a fever. His eyes were reddened with obvious tear tracks down his cheeks, his clothes were dirty, mostly from being in that small space, but also torn in a few places.

It was clear they needed to get him out of here quickly. “Yu,” Akira said softly offering his hand to him.

Yusuke looked at him, took his hand, and his voice trembled as he said, “I wanna go home. Pleathe we go home now?”

“Of course we can kid, come on, let’s go.”

All the way to the car, Akira fought his Littlespace. He held tightly to Yusuke’s hand, rubbing small patterns with his thumb as they walked. The predictable patterns seemed to settle Yu down a little.

When they got to the car, Sojiro opened the back door for them, Yusuke crawled in first, and Akira followed. By the time the door was shut, Akira metal age had plummeted. It was an almost painful drop, and he had to stop himself from bursting into tears. Yusuke was the one that needed comfort not him. Akira knew he was selfish, he had always been, but right now, Yu needed him, and while he couldn’t be Big right now, he could help care for him.

“It’s kay to cry, my Yu. Kira here, Kira is protect Yu dis time.”

That was all it took to break the dam Yusuke had used to hold back his tears.

Sojiro got into the driver’s seat, and handed over a small duffel Akira hadn’t seen the man toss in the car. Kira opened it, knowing what he would find. It was the bag that Yusuke had left when he had come over yesterday, and it had all of his Little things in it.

He reached into the bag, and pulled out a pacifier. He offered it to Yusuke, and the boy quickly latched on to it. Tears were still falling from his eyes, but it was like going from a thunderstorm to a light drizzle.

Now Yusuke just looked tired. Kira scooted over until he was against the door, and Yusuke managed to curl up on the seat, resting his head in Kira’s lap. His tear-streaked face, was pressed into Kira’s tummy, but Kira didn’t mind.

Slowly, Kira began to run his fingers through Yu’s hair. Daddy did that all the time, and it felt nice, so he thought it might help.

Yu seemed to snuggle into him more as he continued, and Kira smiled.

The ride went by in a blur, and what seemed like seconds later, they were pulling into the driveway of Sojiro’s house.

“Come on in, I think the little kit could use a bath.”

“What bout Taba?”

“She went out for a little while. I called her, and let her know that Yusuke wasn’t feeling well, she ran a bath for him, and went out with a few friends from the group.”

Together, Sojiro, and Kira, guided Yu into the house. Sojiro swiftly undressed him, and got him settled in the tub. The kid didn’t put up a fight to any of Sojiro’s ministrations, and soon was clean, and dressed in some fox themed pajamas.

Akira, meanwhile, had managed to wrangle his way out of his headspace, and went to the store to pick up some medicine. He also took the time to fill the others in on finding Yusuke upset, and assuring them that he would be taken care of. He felt bad for pushing them away though, knowing they wanted to see that their friend was alright with their own eyes. He missed them too, missed having them around when he was Little. It had been a month at this point, and being the selfish monster that he was, he wanted to be with them all again.

He shook his head, now was not the time to be dwelling on that. Yu needed him. After Akira made his purchases, he went back to the cafe. He changed the sheets, and went to wash them, and Yusuke’s soiled clothing, at the laundromat across the street. By the time he had finished loading them into the drier, Sojiro and Yu had walked through the door of the cafe. Akira immediately noticed the pajamas his friend was wearing, and looked at Sojiro, who was giving him a look that said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

Akira rolled his eyes, and went to the more important topic at hand. “How is he?”

“Tired, well more like exhausted. He hasn’t spoken at all since we went to go get him.”

Akira looked at his friend, something seemed a little different, but in a familiar type of way. Then it hit him. “He’s slipped younger.”

“How can you tell?”

“A while back, I… well I misunderstood something, and it made me upset. I really couldn’t handle it, and I just... broke. I regressed further than I normally do, and I couldn’t meet any of my own needs. I was scared, but I had someone to help me through it. I have to go out to get something, will you tuck him in upstairs?”

Sojiro looked a bit confused, but he nodded.

Akira was back in less than fifteen minutes. He breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the cafe door. The worry he was feeling about Yusuke, and having come out of his Littlespace so quickly had made him tired.

“Maybe you should get some rest too,” Sojiro suggested.

Akira jumped at the sound of his voice. He hadn’t even noticed that the man was in the room, and that more than anything else was a show of just how tired he truly was.

‘Selfish’ he scolded himself again. Yusuke was the one that needed Sojiro’s worry right then, Akira didn’t need it. He had got a bit of Little time after all, and he’d had so much of it over the last few months that he should be okay for a while.

“Stop,” he growled, “just stop it.” He needed to stop being so selfish, needed to stop being so needy, it would tear everything from him in the end, and he had so much more to lose now.

“Kid… Akira!”

Sojiro was _ begging _ him, _ pleading, _but he couldn’t, he needed to be strong, he could fix it.

“I can’t go through this, not again,” Sojiro said, and Akira’s gaze snapped back to the man. He was _ crying _ he had made Sojiro _ cry _. “I can’t lose another kid to self-loathing, I can’t do it Akira.”

In the face of such a confession, Akira broke. “I’m sorry,” he cried, holding on to the only real father, the only _ daddy, _ he had ever known. He wasn’t Little, not yet, but it didn’t seem to matter. “I just feel selfish for wanting your attention, wanting the others attention, _ needing _ it. I’m scared of what it is turning me into, so scared that it will all go away, and that even though I know that Yu is hurting more right I want to be cared for.”

“Akira, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. You care about so many people, and work tirelessly to make others happy, we want the same for you. To make _ you _happy. Yes, Yusuke might be hurting right now, but I saw the way you cared for him on the ride home, how he clung to you, he’s resting here now, safe because of you, and you will help him through whatever happened, because that is the type of person you are. Yusuke might be hurting badly right now, but so are you, and your feelings are just as valid as anyone else’s. You two are my boys, my precious kids, and I can care for both of you at the same time I promise.”

Sojiro watched as Akira went through several emotions, before that wall of aloofness he managed to maintain outside of Littlespace, even during moments of heightened emotion, shattered into a million pieces, and he began to sob. Sojiro held him through all of it, wondering if this was the first time this boy, his Akira, had ever allowed himself to show his sadness, to give into pain, to express it so openly, without being regressed. 

Akira cried until he was too exhausted to keep going. After that, he felt his body began to fall, every part of him calling out for rest. Once again Sojiro picked him up, and took him to bed. 

Both his boys were worn out, and he was going to do everything that he could to heal the wounds that had been inflicted on them. For right no though, what they needed was rest. After he had tucked Akira in alongside Yusuke, he went to get their stuffed animals, hopefully they would keep the nightmares away tonight, even still he found himself leaving around midnight, it had been worth it to make sure they would be alright for the night. Tomorrow would bring what it would, but he would be there too, and everything would work out, he would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original edit, it was just going to be Akira and Sojiro comforting Yusuke after he suddenly regressed, and then it turned into this hurtfest, and I kind of like it this way.


	7. Power of Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little talking and some comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!

Yusuke woke with the knowledge that he had been asleep for a rather long time. It was very similar to being caught in his more unhealthy art cycle, where inspiration would strike, usually at an unforgiving hour like midnight, and time would simply fall away, until he surfaced from the project and realized just how long he had been at it.

This was a bit different for several reasons, though, the first of which being that he was in soft, comfortable pajamas, a second being that he was warm, and laying on a comfortable bed that was quite familiar despite not being the one in his dorm.

There was another reason too, but the more he tried to pinpoint it, the more it eluded him. Finally, he just opened his eyes, and he found himself face to face with Akira. His friend was still asleep, and Yusuke didn't want to wake him, somehow he could tell that Akira needed the rest as much as he himself had.

He frowned at that, why had he needed to rest again? What had happened? Come to think of it, he didn't remember coming to the cafe at all, his last memory was of hiding in the space between the buildings near his dorm after…

Yusuke felt all the warmth melt away in an instant, as the memories seemed to thrust ice into his veins. It was in that state that he also came to realize what else was different. He was wearing a diaper, and if that weren't enough, it was heavy, after already serving its purpose.

That realization, combined with the memories, and the horrible knowledge that, had he not been wearing the diaper he would have wet the bed, because honestly, he could not remember going at all, and it was made so much worse because he would have wet Akira's bed. That was more than enough reasons for Little Yu to surface, and it was all he could do to contain his sobs enough that he wouldn't wake Akira.

~

Akira woke up slowly. For a moment, he didn't know what had woken him up, but as he stretched a little, to loosen up limbs that had been bent too long during sleep, a jolt of urgency went through him, and he noticed how full his bladder was. 

That definitely had to be the thing to wake him, he realized, as he went from not noticing he needed to pee, to about to pee right now regardless of where he was or if he wanted to. 

He squeezed his legs together, trying to summon the control to get out of bed, and down the stairs, without losing said control, and just as he thought that he was ready as he would ever be, he became aware that the bed was shaking.

His need is put on hold, and he winces at the unintended pun in that, when he realizes that the shaking bed is accompanied by muffled cries. Maybe his bladder wasn't the only thing that had woken him then.

"Yusuke?" he asks gently. He is proud of just how even his voice is given the circumstances.

His friend jumps, somehow missing that he had woken up, and looks at him with an expression that screams guilt.

"I didn't mean to!" he says in a panic before biting at the sleeve of his pajama shirt.

"You didn't mean to do what?" Akira asks. He knows it will be hard to get an answer, given the fact that Yusuke seems to be half in and half out of his headspace right now was an obstacle, but he can't do anything to help if he had no idea of what the problem was. 

Another jolt of urgency strikes, but Akira ignores it. He can and will wait.

Yusuke doesn't stop biting his sleeve, but he pushes aside the covers, shivering as the cooler air in the room hits him where his pajama pants have ridden up, Akira can tell in an instant what Yusuke is showing hlm though.

It was clear, even with his pajama pants on, that Yusuke was wearing protection, and that over the course of the night he had made use of it, probably unintentionally going by his reaction to it. 

The realization causes him to have a small lapse of control. He looks down, expecting to find a dot of wetness only to see that his pants are dry.

'Ah, well that changes things a little,' he thinks.

"It's okay Yusuke, look," he pulls his pants down just a fraction to show that he has been padded up as well. "I saw how you were reacting yesterday, and I got them as a precaution. Didn't expect to end up in one myself though," he laughs a little, the vibrations have him releasing more than just humor. He is barely able to stop, and he knows that next time he might not be so lucky.

"Do you… I mean," he clears his throat in embarrassment, "Do you have to relieve yourself?"

Akira blushes, somehow embarrassed himself now that attention is called to his problem. "Since I woke up," he replies.

"You can go, I'll still be here when you come back."

'You can go.' Akira knows Yusuke is letting him know it is okay to get up, and use the bathroom like a sensible teenager, that nothing was going to happen in the few minutes that he is gone, but it feels like he has been given permission, and his body thinks so too, because the padding is suddenly a damp with a few seconds of relief.

"I don't think I can," he says calmly as he is able to, the panic in his voice is unmistakable.

"Am I in the way? Yusuke asks, sitting up to give Akira more room to move.

"No, I just don't think I can stand without going." 

Yusuke looks skeptical for a moment, probably thinking something nonsensical about him playing up the situation and wetting on purpose just to help negate the embarrassment of the situation, Akira thinks. Then he thinks it might not be that nonsensical at all, because that does sound like something he would do if he weren’t actually super desperate.

Then Yusuke's face softens, probably seeing that he is truly struggling not to just let go, which is somehow worse. He feels himself slipping, and hates it because Yusuke is the one that needs the care right now, and he can feel those hateful thoughts from last night creeping back into his mind.

"Akira don't, you don't ever have to be ashamed of needing comfort, I have been a bad friend if you don't see that, and I am confident that everyone would agree with me wholeheartedly."

"How did you-" Yusuke looks at him with an intensity that makes him stop in the middle of his sentence. 

"You think any of us wouldn't know what it looks like to know that you are giving all you have and still feel that it isn't enough? To feel like nobody would be there to catch you if you fell, and for that to be a relief because you know it isn't like you deserve it anyway? "

The thought hits him with all the gentleness of a slap across the face. He thinks about his friends, and realized that Yusuke was right. Ryuji had given everything to the track team, and became a pariah, Ann had done everything she could to protect Shiho, just still had to watch her friend suffer. Yusuke had given everything to Madarame, and forcing himself to see the kind of man he was, had to have been heartbreaking. Makoto, had worked hard to live up to all the expectations everyone had, and lost everything that made her an individual in the process. Futaba had been used and manipulated until the darkness forced on her had nearly consumed her, and Haru had given everything to her father, and his company, becoming nothing more than a pawn. 

"But you’re the one that..."

Yusuke nodded, "Yesterday was awful for me,” he acknowledges, but that doesn't mean you can't have any comfort or that you deserve it any less that I do, and it also doesn't stop me from being the one to provide it to you."

Hearing words so similar to the ones that Sojiro had spoken to him last night, coupled with blatant permission, was enough to allow him to throw himself into a hug with his friend. Maybe they were right, maybe he should trust their words, he could feel hope rising in him at the thought. Unfortunately, the action had also had the effect of jostling his far too full bladder, that he had somehow managed to forget about for a few seconds, and that broke the last of his already fragile control.

Urine shot into the slightly damp padding, no amount of clenching muscles were able to stop the rapid flow at this point, and Akira could do nothing, but scramble back on the bed, and just let it happen.

After an eternity comprised of two minutes, and a minor miracle, with the fact that the diaper didn’t leak, he was happy for that because he might have actually died if it had leaked, then it was over. He was just managing to look on the bright side, which is the fact that the boulder that was residing somewhere around his stomach was a fleshy organ once more, when Yusuke spoke up. "Shall we go, and… clean up now?" he suggests.

It heightens the embarrassment of the moment, because the question was asked a few moments after he had finished, meaning that hissing wasn't just in his imagination.

Akira kept his head down, and mumbled "Sure," an unvoiced, but extremely obvious, 'if I don't combust from embarrassment first,' following it.

There is some silence, and Akira doesn’t really know what to do with it. He refuses to look at Yusuke, because it would just make things too real, so he just looks down like the floor is the most interesting thing in the world. 

"Can… Is it okay if I tell you what happened yesterday?"

The question comes out of nowhere, but there is no way that he can say no, so instead he meets Yusuke's eyes, nods, and waits.

Yusuke doesn't start speaking immediately, but Akira is patient, and that is rewarded when Yusuke says, "I awoke yesterday with a slight fever. I wasn't too concerned, I knew if it got worse I would be here, and taken care of." He gave a slight smile at that, and Akira couldn't help smiling back.

"I had to go to class, I might have taken the day off were it not for the test in Mr. Morooka's class."

"He wouldn't give you a chance to retake the test even though you were sick?"

"Maybe to another student, but ever since that fiasco where I asked a classmate to model for me, he has taken perverse pleasure in making his class difficult for me. That being the case, I took the test, and was going back to the dorm to rest when a group of my peers decided to… talk to me." 

Akira frowned not liking where this seemed to be going.

"I am often subjected to being talked about, as you can imagine, as you all say, I march to the beat of my own drum."

"We don't mean it as a bad thing," Akira hurries to reassure him.

Yusuke smiles. "I know," he says, still grinning. "Sometimes it is not the words, but the people saying them."

Akira definitely understood that.

"There were the usual taunts, and it was only made worse because most of them were Madarame loyalists."

Akira looked at him stunned, and a little proud because Yusuke hadn't stumbled on the name this time.

Seeing Akira's disbelief, Yusuke elaborated. "There are those that protest Madarame's confession, and argue that he was blackmailed or otherwise coerced." 

Yusuke had a wry grin on his face as he said this and Akira could see why. In a way the man had been forced, but he had to be guilty to even be susceptible in the first place.

"It was a bit hard to listen to, but I stood there quietly, I wasn't feeling well, and I could feel my headspace starting to take over. I was scared replying or moving would be the last push before I gave into the tears. Then one of them pushed me, I was unsteady, and I fell, then he said…" Yusuke froze.

"What did he say?" Akira asked softly, gently resting his hand on Yusuke's wrist. 

Yusuke moved his arm until his hand was resting in Akira's, and then gave it a firm squeeze. 

The squeeze was on the threshold of being painful, but Akira didn't mind. If Yusuke was able to draw even one ounce of strength from the action, it was well worth it.

"He said… 'it's a good thing you're already an orphan because nobody should be obligated to pretend to love a selfish, talentless freak like you.' I know I should not let the words make me-"

"Yusuke," Akira broke in, "words might not do physical harm, but they do hurt."

Yusuke realized that Akira understood all too well how affected by the words a person could be. How the wrong ones could send you hurtling down a very slippery emotional slope.

"He said all the right words to hurt you, he insulted your gifts, and aimed to make you feel small, and unimportant, but Yusuke, he was wrong about all of it. You have us. We might not be blood related, and we may not understand you half the time, but we are all family, and we chose this one, plus Sojiro is your Papa now, and that isn't just for Littlespace." At the slightly shocked expression, he added, "I thought that side was only for Little me too, but he came right out and let me know that I was wrong. Once he accepts you, you're his and there is nothing you can do about it." There was an unspoken statement of 'not that I would want to do anything about it', and Yusuke more than agreed with that point. "Also you have a lot of talent, and by the way when you become world famous, and make more money than I ever will, because people will flock to your art shows, I want you to remember who made sure you didn't have to make a dinner out of bean sprouts."

"Pa-Boss?"

"And who gave you train fare."

"Ann?"

"And who helped you gather ideas for your art."

"Makoto?"

This exchange continued for at least five minutes with both boys smiling like idiots the whole time, before Yusuke said, "And I most certainly will not forget the person that brought together a group of misfits, and turned them into a family."

All Akira could do is look at the floor in embarrassment, he felt vulnerable, but it's a happy type of vulnerability. For so long he had been forced to harden himself to the opinions of others, especially after gaining a criminal record, but he had come to value the opinions of those closest to him, and they could make him feel with an intensity that was both foreign to him, and, at the same time, wonderful.

The embarrassment is easily quadrupled when Sojiro came up the stairs. While his presence is a comforting one to both of them, it also put their focus on the one thing they had managed not to focus on during their conversation, and the subsequent joking.

In a matter of seconds, they went from deer in the headlights teenagers, to two tearful Littles whose only answer to the current situation was to cry. 

Part of the reaction was surely due to the residual embarrassment from having an accidents at their chronological ages, but more of the distress was coming from the fact that, even if the weren't Big, they were big boys, and not babies, and now the man they both loved as a father might think they were. The greatest factor, though, was even simpler than that, they were cold and wet, and wanted to be warm and dry.

There was no way for them to verbalize any of it, they didn't have the words, but luckily for them, they didn't need to, because they had something much better than words, they had Sojiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Life happened and the chapter didn't want to write itself, and then it turned into this. I'm not sure if I like this chapter or not.


	8. Gifts Aplenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The whole gang is here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is really going again. Got a good little bit of the next chap written and this one is a good length.

Sojiro had gone back to the cafe with a good idea of what he would be walking into. After both of them having such an emotionally draining night, and then sleeping for a long time, well things tended to happen, which was why he took precautions he had in the first place, and that wasn't even factoring in how their headspaces, which seemed lower than usual, would affect the situation.

So when all was said and done, Little and wet was what he had anticipated when he had left the night before. It was also why he came armed with two pacifiers, which he attached to their attire immediately because Akira was biting his fingers far too hard, and Yusuke was not far from chewing a hole in the pajama sleeve he was biting on. Thankfully, they didn't put up a fight at the change from fingers, and cloth, to rubber teats.

The next order of business was to hand over two stuffed bunnies that he bought on a _random_ trip to the store.

The one he handed to Akira was cream with black tipped ears and gray eyes. It had on a black suit with a red tie. Yusuke's was gray with purple eyes. It was wearing a dark blue suit with a gold western necktie.

Sojiro grinned. Now that they were distracted, talking about something unintelligible to him, due to the pacifiers, but still clearly understood by the both of them, he could shift his attention to the more pressing matter.

He wondered what he should do, this should be something that they had a say in, but he didn't want to risk upsetting them again by asking them what they wanted to do.

Apparently, even in the mental space of a toddler, Akira was still far too observant, because as Sojiro was weighing the options, he took out his pacifier to say, “Yu need change firs.”

“I think that he can choose what he wants to do buddy,” Sojiro cautioned, not wanting to pressure Yusuke into something that he didn’t want.

“I’m wet Papa. Help?” His voice was soft, and fragile as a newborn kitten, and he was red as a ripe tomato, but there was a certain amount of confidence there that let him know that the boy was receptive if he was willing to help with this. Sojiro simply found himself thankful that Yusuke was a good kid, because he would do just about anything in the world if asked in that way, and a little bit of clean-up was certainly no hardship.

“Okay,” Sojiro said. He made quick work of setting a towel across the end of the bed. “I’ll need you to lay down here,” he instructed. As Yusuke got into the necessary position, Sojiro retrieved the bag he had placed in the room the night before.

As he made his way back to the bed, he was treated to an adorable sight, Yusuke was covering his face with his new bunny, but was peeking at him through the tiny gap in the ears.

Sojiro gasped dramatically, “Where did Yusuke go?” he asked Akira.

Both boys giggled.

“There’s the little kit,” he said, tickling the boy a little.

Yusuke gasped, and squirmed at the touch. Sojiro stilled him, not wanting the boy to wiggle right off the bed, and made quick work of cleaning him up.

It was rather embarrassing, how unembarrassed he was at the situation. Here he was, a grown man, changing a diaper on a teenage boy, and all he could think about was how cute said boy was as he hid his face with a stuffed bunny. Perhaps that was what it meant when the site said that caregivers have their own kind of headspace, or maybe he was just an odd type of guy.

Either way, whatever the reason for his calmness, he made sure to clean Yusuke up well, not wanting the boy to develop a rash, before taping him into a clean diaper.

After he was done, Yusuke threw his arms around him in a sloppy hug.

“You’re welcome,” Sojiro said, responding to the unspoken thanks.

Yusuke pulled away slowly, and looked at Akira. “Kira turn.”

Akira blushed, and scrambled away.

For a moment, Sojiro thought that Akira didn’t want to be put into another diaper. He was just about to say that he didn’t have to wear one, when he remembered that Akira had said that Yusuke needed to be changed first.

Sojiro realized that the problem was not that Akira did not want him to change him, it was that he _did_, and he was upset that he wanted it. Once again the childhood neglect was rearing its head. Being thought of as self-sufficient as early as you could recall, would certainly make this a rather taxing ordeal, and even regressed, Akira seemed to think he was too old.

Just as he was about to say something that he hoped would comfort the boy, Yusuke made his way over to where Akira had curled up. "Kira need get change. Wet ith yucky."

"Kira know."

"Why run then?"

"Not a baby."

"I not either."

"Yu not like Kira. Kira is bad."

Yusuke hugged him. "Kira good. Kira ith amazing."

Akira looked him in the eye, Yusuke was telling the truth. "Yu with me?"

Yusuke nodded, and they both got up. He led him over to the bed, and helped him get laid out.

Akira grabbed Yusuke's hand, and Yusuke tightened the hold. The boy guided Akira's pacifier into Akira's mouth.

Sojiro made quick work of cleaning Akira up too, not wanting to drag it out, and upset Akira. "All done," he said patting the boy's leg. "You did so well," he praised.

Akira blushed again.

"I'm going to clean up a bit, and then I have a bit of a surprise for the two of you. So why don't you go play, and I will let you know when the surprise is ready."

"Kay Daddy."

"Okay Papa."

In minutes, the boys had gotten out their stuffed toys, and picked up where the story left off.

~

Logan Bear groaned. It felt like he had hibernated on a pointy rock or fallen down a cliff.

"Mr.Bear?" came a soft, and concerned voice.

"Kit?" Logan managed, opening his eyes. The memories came back to him quickly. "You didn't get hurt did you?"

"Worry about yourself for once Lo," said the tiger.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Like you worry about yourself, Ti."

"We're not talking about me," came the hasty reply.

Logan laughed a little, and turned back to the fox kit. "You never did answer my question. Are you okay?"

The kits eyes filled with tears. "I'm okay, but you got hurt by the dragon."

"That overgrown lizard just got lucky."

"Why did you help me?"

"Because you needed me to, and well, I was a lot like you. I was cast aside, and the kindness of a stranger is the only reason I'm here today."

"Hey what do you think you are doing!?" the tiger admonished.

"Getting up," Logan hissed.

"Try it," the tiger growled, pressing on the bear

Logan growled in return, but laid back down.

"And where do you think you're going?" the tiger directed at the wolf kit.

"He would be okay if he didn't save me."

"Stay," the tiger ordered the bear.

"Yes mom," the bear said sarcastically, but he did stay put.

"Kit listen, Logan is a bear that likes saving others. If not you it would have been another in need of saving. He actually saved me once too--

"More than once," Logan cut in.

"Hush," snapped the tiger in a growl that still managed to sound fond.

"As I was saying, he saved me, and since I had nowhere to go, I stayed with him. I wouldn't mind sharing the den with one more."

"Really!? I can stay?"

The tiger nodded. "Now that that is decided we can properly introduce ourselves. My name is Titan."

"I'm Inari," the kit said, shaking the offered paw.

~

"Boys, are you ready for the surprise?"

Akira and Yusuke nodded.

"Are you sure. It is a big surprise, and I don't want either of you to be uncomfortable."

"Daddy surpwise is good."

"Papa ith a good Papa, we will like if you think we will."

He swallowed, trying not to get choked up at the amount of trust that they had in him. "The surprise is at my house, are you comfortable waking there in your pajamas or do you want to change?"

"I kay," Akira said.

"Me too," said Yusuke.

"Okay then. Let's go."

The boys put away their toys, and were soon ready to leave the cafe. The walk was quick, and it was early enough that there weren’t that many people outside. Everyone was grateful for that, because it gave the boys the freedom to grip Sojiro’s hands, and swing them, as they bounced down the backstreets.

Minutes later, they reached Sojiro’s house.

“Why it so dark?” Akira whispered.

Sojiro just rubbed soothing circles with his fingers on both of the boys hands, letting them know that everything was okay. He guided them to the living room, and suddenly the lights came on.

“Surprise,” said several voices in unison. Nobody moved, fearing that it would upset the two Littles.

Yusuke stood there stunned, like he couldn’t believe they were there. Akira’s reaction was more potent. He burst into tears, and fell to the floor, unable to help himself, he could hear the concerned voices around him, could feel the worry from them all, but he just couldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop because… “Happy,” he managed to get out. “Kira... m-miss every...one.”

It was at that point that Yusuke gave into tears. “Thorry Kira,” he whimpered.

Akira wiped away some of his tears so he could look at Yusuke. “Why Yu is sorry?”

“I kept you away, you wit them more before I Little.”

Akira dove onto him. “Yu wrong. Love Yu, Kira love Yu lots and lots.”

“Not mad?”

“Not mad at my Yu.”

Suddenly- Akira brightened. “Yu give nickname to dem all?”

“What you call them?”

“Gana, Ryu, Sissy, Mako, Taba, an Ru,” Akira said point to each person in turn.

Yusuke but on his sleeve, clearly overwhelmed and nervous.

Akira reached over and grabbed the pacifier that had been clipped to Yusuke's pajama top earlier that morning, and pressed the teat to Yusuke's mouth. Yusuke latched on immediately, and there was a collective "awww" at the cuteness of the moment. Unfortunately, this also had the side effect of reminding Yusuke of just how many people were there. With clumsy movements, he got out of Akira's hold so that he could hide behind him.

Akira smiled, stood, and then helped Yusuke up. He guided him over to the others. Akira could understand Yusuke's feelings, it was a big group and this was the first time he had seen them while in Littlespace, but they were family, and Akira missed them so much.

During all of this, the others had sat down, minimizing their presence as much as they could with everyone in the room at the same time.

Akira turned to whisper something to Yusuke, and a mischievous light came into both their eyes. They both had chosen targets, and suddenly Ann and Haru had hands playing in their hair.

"Fluffy," Yusuke giggled hands deep in Haru's curls.

"Soft," hummed Akira happily, whilst playing in Ann’s hair.

"My hair is soft too," Ryuji complained with an exaggerated pout.

While the boys were distracted by Ryuji’s comment, the two girls slipped from beneath their hands. They both saw the flash of worry in each Little's eyes, made sure to smile, as they both wiggled their fingers in the universal sign for intention to tickle.

The boys smiled, and tried to get away, but the girls were too quick, and in a matter of seconds, both boys were howling with laughter.

After a minute or so, they managed to get away from the Haru and Ann. Akira hid behind Makoto, and Yusuke behind Ryuji. Both Littles were breathing hard, and still laughing as they hid.

"Where did they go?" Ann asked Haru.

"I can't seem to find them anywhere. Do you know where they are?"

Ryuji and Makoto shook their heads, and Futaba shrugged.

Morgana walked around pretending to look for them.

"Wherever could they have gone?" Haru asked the room with a hint of dramatic wailing.

The boys looked at each other and decided that it was the perfect time to pop up. "Boo!" the exclaimed together.

All of their friends looked silly as they faced them with extra surprised faces.

"Are you boys having fun?" Sojiro asked.

"Yes lots and lots Daddy."

"Mmhmm."

"Well I have the gifts and breakfast ready, if you want it."

"Food!"Yusuke exclaimed, running over to Sojiro.

"Hungry," Akira agreed.

After a breakfast of fruit and pancakes, the boys were presented with the stack of gifts.

Akira backed away until he was sitting against the closest wall

"What are you doing all the way over there?" Sojiro asked

"Yu need room to open stuff."

"Do you want to open your things over there?" Ann asked.

"I has gifts?"

"Of course," Haru told him.

"Each gave me things though," he said.

"Little guy, we haven't seen you in a long time, of course we want to give you things. Hugs and snuggles mostly, but presents too." With that said, Ryuji helped him up, and back to the table.

"Kira okay?"

Akira nodded. "Yu opens first."

Yusuke trembled a little as he opened the first gift. It was a handmade doll from Ann. It was clearly Goemon, but the features were much softer.

"It's not the best likeness, but I hope you like it," Ann said.

"Love it" he said softly.

They take turns opening the presents. Akira gets a soft blanket with teddy bears patterned across it, a white unicorn pegasus onesie that has stars littered across the fabric, and a sippy cup with a bear pattern.

Yusuke gets a blanket with a fox theme, a wolf onesie, a teddy bear of his own, and a sippy cup with a wolf theme.

Bursting from the happiness of knowing that their friends had put so much thought and effort into getting them gifts, hugs became the only way that they knew to show how much they love their gifts.

After the excitement of the gifts, they all went back into the living room and turned on some cartoons that easily held the attention of the two Littles.

While their attention was on the screen, the others went to gather pillows and other soft things including the new blankets they had bought for the boys and made a nest in the middle of the living room floor. They had to wait for a commercial before attempting to entice Akira and Yusuke into it though.

The two Littles settled in the middle of the nest and the others settled in around them until they resembled a human version of a lion pride.

"You all better clean this mess before you leave," Sojiro said gruffly. The teens might have taken him seriously if it weren't for him taking pictures and smiling at the image. The two Littles didn't even spare a glance. They both knew Sojiro was their soft, kind Father, and being gruff had more to do with shielding that softness, than actually being mean.

Three episodes of some cartoon with a cat and a ladybug themed team of superheroes, the two Little ones dozed off. They had snuggled up to one another and lay half covered with their new blankets.

Slowly, making sure not to wake them, each of the others got up from the cuddle pile to put phase two of the little get together into motion. Perhaps had one of them stayed behind for a little while longer they might have noticed the slight frown appear on Yusuke's face as the boy shivered despite his blanket, and had the tv been off one of them may have heard the subsequent whimper from Akira, but as it was, they were unaware that anything was wrong until the combined sobbing of the two Littles had them all running back into the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploaded while waiting for my mama friend wedding to start. Had to keep myself entertainers somehow.


	9. Always There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares, and Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, finished this chapter. See you at the end for some announcements.

_Dark._

_It was dark. Like a moonless night, but worse._

_There were no headlights from cars, no streetlights, no lights on inside homes. Not even a single star was present to guide him._

_Just dark._

_He wandered aimlessly in the dark. He was looking for something?_

_Suddenly, a bright light appears, blinding in its radiance._

_He blinks, trying to clear his sight, and see anything. It is then that he stumbles, slipping in something wet._

_Thunder sounds, and he realizes that the flash of light was lightening._

_He regains his sight, with another burst from the sky, and all he sees red._

_Blood!_

_He follows the trail, unable to stop himself, even as feelings of fear, and unease began to grip him. Then he falls, tripping over an obstruction in his path._

_Another flash illuminates the obstruction, and he can't stop the tears or the sounds coming from him. On the ground is Futaba. Her body is pale, and she is laying there, far too still for someone always so animated. Further on, he can see his friends lifeless before him, Ryuji, Makoto, Haru, and Morgana…_

_He turns coming face to face with Ann. "You really are a curse," she whispers, as she falls to the ground._

_Yusuke can't take another moment of this, he can't lose them, he can't lose everyone again._

_His tears quicken in pace as he sobs. "Help!" he cries. "This can't be real! Please, don't let this be real."_

_~_  
_ Everything was slow. It was like being in a dramatic movie scene where the director wanted the audience to feel just as disoriented as the character._

_He was running or, more accurately, he trying to. The best he could manage was a less than average walking speed, no matter how much he tried to coax out more speed._

_He looked around wondering what could be going on, and then his blood seemed to freeze in his veins._

_The people around him were staring. Eyes mocking as they laughed at him. He looked down to find that he was dressed in nothing, but a diaper, and as though that level of mortification were not enough, he could feel himself wetting the padding._

_Urine gushed into the wet material, before running freely down his legs, and puddling on the ground at his feet._

_He could feel tears of shame burning in his eyes. He hadn't even realized he needed to pee before it was already happening._

_Suddenly, men surrounded him, their faces were shadowed, and terror had him trying to back away, and unable to do so. He was frozen, and could only watch as hands reached out for him. Grabbing him, squeezing every inch of his body until pain was all he could feel._

_As his vision started to fade, he caught a glimpse of several familiar figures, most of them were human, one was a cat, and he tried to call out. Tried to ask for help._

_In a unified move, the figures stopped to look at him, and for a few seconds hope flared in his chest, but then he made eye contact with one of them. The teen was dressed in black, with red gloves, and a white mask._

_"I'm the one they need," the teen said before turning around, and continuing to walk away, the rest of the group followed him._

_The teen thrusted one gloved hand into the air, and said, "Goodbye, Akira."_

_Akira screamed, pain, both physical and emotional, tearing him to shreds, and blissfully, it was at that moment that everything went dark._

~  
Akira woke with a start. Even with his eyes open he was still reliving the nightmare. His breathing speed as he lay there looking looking around wildly, before gazing into Yusuke's eyes.

Seeing similar pain, and panic, mirrored back at him was all it took for the tears to break free of the small amount of control he had, and that seemed to be the case for Yusuke too.

Before long, silent tears had given way to choking cries, and all they could do was cling to one another and sob.

Some immeasurable amount of time later, everyone was in the room with them, and for a moment it made them cry harder. The nightmares were so vivid in their minds that seeing their friends simultaneously made them feel worse, because the images were about them, and better, because them being here, meant that the nightmares were just bad dreams.

Hands tentatively touched them, and when they made no move to pull away, the hands tightened, pulling them both into wonderfully warm hugs, that chased away the lingering chill left from the horrible nightmares.

~

It had taken them an hour, but they were truly proud of how the task had turned out.

“What do you think Boss, did we do a good job?” Ryuji asked.

Sojiro surveyed their work. “Yeah, they’ll love it, you kids do good work.”

A set of cries from familiar voices, more distressed than they had ever heard them, reached their ears had them all hurrying to the boys. When they arrived, the scene before them was enough to give them a moment of pause.

Yusuke, and Akira were clinging to one another, crying so hard that it was quite likely that they would make themselves sick with it. Sojiro was the first to move. The man went to Yusuke, and placed a hand on the boy. Ryuji mirrored the action with Akira. Seeing that they were not overwhelmed by the touches, they pulled the Littles into hugs.

Yusuke and Akira seemed reluctant to release each others hands, so the older man and the teen scooted closer to one another.

Soon, the sobs turned into snuffling, and after a short time more even that ceased, and they were left with two worn out Littles.

“Look who came to cheer you up,” Sojiro said softly.

Yusuke, and Akira peeked in the direction that he pointed, and saw all their stuffies lined up in a row. They seemed happy to see them all, but neither of them made a move to go towards them. Perhaps it was a lack of energy or it might have been that they were simply content to be held, whatever the reason both of them stayed where they were. Nobody kept track of how long they sat there, comforting them, but eventually they were forced to move when they heard the sounds of hungry tummies.

After a meal of sandwiches, and milk, which, despite the evident hunger, they just picked at, they were back in the nest, cuddling closely, and surrounded by the stuffies. “Do you think you can tell us about your nightmares? You both still seem upset by them.” Makoto said.

Akira looked over at Yusuke, Yusuke gazed at Akira. They nodded a little, and reached for each others hands. Yusuke started. “Dark, it wath real dark, then the lightning lit up the dark. Then I…” Yusuke began to choke on his words.

“You don’t have to talk about it anymore,” Haru said softly shocked, and saddened by the content of his dream.

Yusuke shook his head before continuing. “In the light, I… there wath… red. Everyone but Kira and Maki were… _gone_. Then Maki," at that he glanced at Ann, before quickly looking away " wath there and Maki thay that… I a curthe. Then gone like everyone.”

Yusuke hid his face, before trying to curl in on himself.

The others wouldn’t let him though, they were all upset by his dream, especially because of the effect it was having on him, and they understood why he wanted to hide, but they were not going to let him, not yet anyway. They all knew that the nightmare would just continue to haunt him if they did. “Yusuke, you are not a curse,” Ann said, running her fingers through his hair, and happy when the action made he smile a little. “Yeah you might bring a little rain with you, but rain helps things grow, and you’ve helped all of us be better just by being our friend.”

“Yeah Inari, you got us until you want out of this group. Though,” the girl looked around before smiling softly,” with all the weirdness in this group, you might just want to leave it.”

Yusuke shook his head wildly. “Never want to leave. Love you all. _Mine_, my family.”

“That’s settled then,” Makoto said with finality. “We won’t leave you, and you won’t leave us.”

"Rwelly?" Akira asked.

"What do you mean buddy?" Ryuji asked.

"All gonna stay."

"We wouldn't lie about something this important," Futaba said before realizing something. "Did we leave in your nightmare too?" she asked gently.

Akira nodded. He looked away from them all before he spoke. “Was walking in da city, an people were all around me, an were laughing. Looked down and was just in a diaper, an it was wet, and got more wet… couldn’t stop, an I not able to move cause people all round me. They hurt me, an I not could fight back. I saw ev’ryone, but no one help me. Den Joker waved and said, he was the one needed, not me. Only could see black, den I woke up.”

“None of us are leaving you, even if you weren’t our leader, you’re still our friend.”

The voice was Haru’s, but it was clear that she was simply voicing what everyone was thinking at the moment.

After a few moment of long silence, Sojiro spoke. “How about a bath? It might be a tight fit with the two of you, but…” Sojiro stopped speaking when he saw his boys nodding. He had the feeling they wouldn’t mind being a little cramped in the tub.

Before he could even ask, Futaba, and Makoto went to prepare the bath, and Haru went to grab their onesies. Soon he had his boys in the tub, and was happy enough to watch them play in the bubbles. They were still a bit subdued, but they were calm, which was far better than the heartbreaking cries from before.

Half an hour later, he was drying them off with a set of fluffy towels. He looked over at the diapers that one of the girls must have laid out, and back at them. They gazed at him, and he gave a bit of a laugh, of course they would leave it up to him.

A few minutes later, attired in their onesies they exited the bathroom. They were adorable, and if there were a few pictures taken to commemorate the adorable sight, well none of them could be blamed for it.

“Do you want guys want to see your big surprise for the day?” Sojiro asked fearing that if he left them to themselves the dreams would once again cause them to get upset, and he couldn't let that happen, he needed to keep his kids, all his kids, happy and smiling.

“Big surpwise?” Akira said in confusion.

Yusuke echoed that confusion with a look of his own.

Sojiro nodded.

The Littles let themselves be led down the hall. The guest room door was opened, and they gasped in shock. The room had been converted into a playroom. There was a toy chest, a big clear crate of blocks, a clothes rack with clothes for them to dress up in, a desk with paper, and two chairs, and so much more.

The next thing that caught their eyes was that the paint on the wall had been redone in a cream color. The top was bordered with red, and blue, and the bottom with black kitty paw prints. One wall had a large black paw print painted on it, and on the wall above the bed, had a blue and white fox, looking up at a black and red bird.

In short the room was perfect.

Both Littles looked at all the people that had done this for them, and seemed to radiate gratitude.

“Ours?” Akira asked just to make sure.

His question was met with a few nods, and a couple verbalizations of, “of course.”

“Me and Kira play now?” Yusuke asked softly.

When permission was given, the two boys hurried off. Looking over everything once again, before settling on building a castle with the blocks.

~

By the time that dinner was served, Akira and Yusuke had taken another nap, and both had woken clear minded, and Big. They replaced the diapers with underwear, but kept on the onesies, they were nice, and soft, so neither of them were ready to take them off.

Their friends responded well to the change, and the topics of school, and anime were the primary conversations during the meal. It was dark when goodbyes were finally exchanged.

That night, Akira sent a text to the group. ‘Today was awesome. Thanks for everything.’ Then he went to the chat for all the thieves. ‘Everyone ready to finish Nijima-san’s Palace?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot to say here, first of I didn't update for a while because I didn't know where to go with this or how to end it. Then I figured out where and how I wanted to send it. it feels a bit rushed, but I don't want to fiddle with it, because it'll just mess it up (wrote the previous bit before I fiddled, the flow is better since I rearranged some of the scenes in the chapter).
> 
> Also I marked this installment complete because it was all about Yusuke finding his Littlespace, and I think I can say he found it over the course of these chapters.
> 
> I have one more short story planned for this verse at the moment for the aftermath of what happens after Sae's Palace and the last Palace.
> 
> I also wanted to upload today (September 29) because tomorrow (September 30) is my birthday, so I'm calling this update my birthday present to myself. 
> 
> Also just pretend time stood still to make all this have time to happen lol.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the long note, and thanks for all the support for this series.


End file.
